Disposable protector for electronic devices

ABSTRACT

A disposable protector to protect an electronic device includes a front panel including a front edge, a rear panel sealed to the front panel to form a number of sealed sides, and including a back edge which extends beyond the front edge along a non-sealed side, a resealable closure to resealably close the front panel and the rear panel along the non-sealed side, an adhesive strip disposed on the back edge, and a protective strip disposed on the adhesive strip. The adhesive strip is adhered to the front panel to tighten a seal of the disposable protector and provide a custom fit around the electronic device inserted into the disposable protector through the non-sealed side, the disposable protector is manufactured according to a size of the electronic device, and the disposable protector is made from a recyclable material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/094,351, filed Sep. 4, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention generally relate to portable disposable protection for electronic devices, and more particularly, relate to adjustable portable disposable protectors configured to fit a plurality of sizes of electronic devices while providing improved protection and functionality for electronic device users.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known in the art to provide disposable protection for items on a person such as eyeglasses, such as a product sold under the trade name READERWRAPS by Calva International, LLC of Centreville, Va. These temporary disposable protection devices wrap a user's eyeglasses so that they can safely and comfortably wear them while receiving hair treatments. These protectors minimally cover the arms of the eye glasses. However, it is not known in the art to configure a disposable protector for electronic devices, such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), MP3 players (such as a product sold under the trademark IPOD by Apple), electronic readers aka e-readers (such as a product sold under the trademark KINDLE by Amazon), Netbooks, and other mobile devices while still allowing functionality of the devices. Such a device would be desirable in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention provide temporary disposable protection for electronic devices such as, but not limited to, cell phones, smart phones, PDA's, MP3's, e-readers, Netbooks, and the like. The protector device according to an aspect of the present invention allows a user to adjustably wrap his or her electronic device in a tightly sealed configuration, regardless of the size of the electronic device. According to another aspect, the protector device has an ideal thickness which allows users to operate the electronic device in the tightly sealed configuration. As a result, the protector device allows users to perform functions such as calling, texting, surfing the Internet, and taking pictures, on an electronic device, all while protecting the electronic device from the elements, such as water, sand, snow and mud.

Aspects of the present invention further provide a disposable protector which has thousands of protective and non-protective uses . . . on the beach, snowboarding, skiing, boating, fishing, hiking, outdoor sports, gardening, cooking, hair coloring, and various other activities.

Aspects of the present invention further provide a disposable protector which may be made in various sizes according to a size of the electronic device to be protected. For example, the disposable protector may be made in four or more sizes, where, a small size can be used to fit bar, slide, touch cell phones, small Smart Phones, and MP3 players (such as a product sold under the trademark IPOD by Apple), a medium size can be used to fit vertical flip phones, a large size can be used to fit horizontal flip phones and large Smart Phones, and an XL size can be used to fit e-readers (such as a product sold under the trademark KINDLE by Amazon). Furthermore, the disposable protector is not limited to being four sizes, and can instead be manufactured in a plurality of sizes for each type of electronic device, e.g., four sizes for cell phones, four separate sizes for Netbooks, etc.

Aspects of the present invention further provide a disposable protector which may be one-hundred percent recyclable.

Aspects of the present invention further provide a disposable protector protect which extends the life of the electronic device, thus decreasing electronic waste in our environment.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a disposable protector to protect an electronic device includes a front panel including a front edge, a rear panel sealed to the front panel to form a number of sealed sides, and including a back edge which extends beyond the front edge along a non-sealed side, a resealable closure to resealably close the front panel and the rear panel along the non-sealed side, an adhesive strip disposed on the back edge, and a protective strip disposed on the adhesive strip, wherein the adhesive strip is adhered to the front panel to tighten a seal of the disposable protector and provide a custom fit around the electronic device inserted into the disposable protector through the non-sealed side, the disposable protector is manufactured according to a size of the electronic device, and the disposable protector comprises a recyclable material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method to protect electronic devices includes inserting an electronic device into a non-sealed side of a disposable protector, the disposable protector including a front panel including a front edge, a rear panel sealed to the front panel to form a number of sealed sides, and including a back edge which extends beyond the front edge along the non-sealed side, a resealable closure to resealably close the front panel and the rear panel along the non-sealed side, an adhesive strip disposed on the back edge, and a protective strip disposed on the adhesive strip; closing the resealable closure; removing the protective strip; adhering the adhesive strip to the front panel to seal the back edge to the front panel and customize the fit; and operating the electronic device by applying pressure to the front panel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method to protect electronic devices includes inserting an electronic device into a non-sealed side of a disposable protector, the disposable protector including a front panel including a front edge, a rear panel sealed to the front panel to form a number of sealed sides, and including a back edge which extends beyond the front edge along the non-sealed side, a resealable closure to resealably close the front panel and the rear panel along the non-sealed side, an adhesive strip disposed on the back edge, and a protective strip disposed on the adhesive strip; closing the resealable closure; removing the protective strip; and adhering the adhesive strip to the front panel to seal the back edge to the front panel.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method to protect electronic devices includes inserting an electronic device into a non-sealed side of a disposable protector having sealed sides and the non-sealed side, the disposable protector including a resealable closure to resealably close the non-sealed side, and an adhesive strip disposed on the disposable protector; closing the resealable closure; adhering the adhesive strip to the front panel to seal the disposable protector and customize the fit; and operating the electronic device from within the disposable protector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The foregoing features, as well as other features, will become apparent with reference to the description and figures below, in which like numerals represent elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view illustration of a protector according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cutaway view illustration of the protector shown in FIG. 1, taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustration of the protector shown in FIG. 1 in a sealed position during use of the protector to protect a mobile device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a disposable protector 10 according to an aspect of the present invention. The disposable protector 10 is made from a 2.0 mil polyethylene material and is transparent. However, it is understood by those skilled in the art that the polyethylene material may be thicker or thinner than 2.0 mil to achieve an appropriate thickness. For example, the polyethylene material according to other aspects of the present invention may be 1.9 mil, 1.8 mil, 1.7 mil . . . 0.1 mil, 3.0 mil. etc. Further, the disposable protector 10 is not limited to being a polyethylene material, and may instead be various other types of materials, such as other types of plastics. Furthermore, the disposable protector 10 is not limited to being transparent, and instead may be translucent, may have designs, etc.

Protector 10 has a front panel 12 a and a rear panel 12 b facing the front panel 12 a. Panels 12 a and 12 b are sealed along three sealed sides 14 a-c using heat or other sealing techniques known in the art. The seal may be water proof, water resistant, or weatherproof depending on the specific application or design. A resealable closure 16 is provided to close a fourth non-sealed side 14 d of the panels 12 a and 12 b. It is understood that the front and rear panels 12 and 12 b are not limited to having four sides, and further that the number of sealed and non-sealed sides may vary. The closure 16 is comparable to a zip-locking closure sold under the trade name ZIPLOC by Dow Brands Inc. of Indianapolis, Ind., although it is understood that the resealable closure 16 is not limited to a zip-locking closure, and may instead be various other types of closures such as zippers, buttons, velcro, adhesive, tapes, etc. As shown, panel 12 a extends past closure 16 to front edge 18, for example, by one or two centimeters. Panel 12 b extends further past front edge 18, such as, for example, by one or two centimeters to terminate at back edge 20. Panel 12 b additionally has an adhesive strip 22 that is covered by a protective strip 24 until removed by a user. Such adhesive strips and protectors may be various types, and may be resealable. FIG. 2 is a side view cutaway of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the protector 10 is in use, the protector 10 may be used to shield the device 26 from the elements, such as sand, moisture, etc., by sliding the device 26 into protector 10. Once inside, closure 16 is used to seal the device 26 from the elements. Since most electronic devices use tactile operation through pressure sensitive switches and the like, the user may still operate the device 26 when the device 26 is sealed inside the protector 10. However, in most instances (e.g., the device is smaller than the dimensions of the panels 12 a and 12 b) the device 26 may still slide around within the protector 10. To provide a secure and tight fit, the protective strip 24 may be removed exposing adhesive strip 22. The user can then grasp edge 20 and pull back edge 20 of panel 12 b over the top of device 26 and apply adhesive strip 22 on the surface of panel 12 a, thus providing a custom, snug fit.

After using the protector 10, the device 26 may be removed and the protector 10 may be discarded. According to an aspect of the present invention, the protector 10 is made from 100% recyclable material, although it is understood that the protector 10 is not limited to such, and may be made from less than 100% recyclable material. Alternatively, the protector 10 may be reused because the adhesive strip 22 may be reusable. However, it is understood that the adhesive strip 22 is not required to being reusable.

The protector 10 is manufactured in a plurality of sizes according to a plurality of sizes and types of the devices 26. According to an aspect of the present invention, the protector 10 is manufactured in four or more sizes, where a small size is used to fit bar, slide, touch cell phones, small Smart Phones, and MP3 players (such as products sold under the trademarks IPOD and IPHONE by Apple), a medium size is used to fit vertical flip phones, a large size is used to fit horizontal flip phones and large Smart Phones, and an XLarge size is used to fit e-readers (such as a product sold under the trademark KINDLE by Amazon), Netbooks, etc. It is understood, however, that the protector 10 may be manufactured in more or less than four sizes. For example, the protector 10 may be manufactured in an XXLarge size to fit full size laptop computers. Furthermore, it is understood that the disposable protector can be manufactured in a plurality of sizes for each type of electronic device, e.g., four sizes for cell phones, four separate sizes for Netbooks, etc.

While aspects of the present invention have been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention attempt to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. A disposable protector to protect an electronic device, comprising: a front panel comprising a front edge; a rear panel sealed to the front panel to form a number of sealed sides, and comprising a back edge which extends beyond the front edge along a non-sealed side; a resealable closure to resealably close the front panel and the rear panel along the non-sealed side; an adhesive strip disposed on the back edge; and a protective strip disposed on the adhesive strip; wherein the adhesive strip is adhered to the front panel to tighten a seal of the disposable protector and provide a custom fit around the electronic device inserted into the disposable protector through the non-sealed side, the disposable protector is manufactured according to a size of the electronic device, and the disposable protector comprises a recyclable material.
 2. The disposable protector of claim 1, wherein the disposable protector further comprises a polyethylene material.
 3. The disposable protector of claim 2, wherein the front and rear panels are transparent.
 4. The disposable protector of claim 3, wherein the adhesive strip comprises a re-sealable adhesive material.
 5. The disposable protector of claim 4, wherein the resealable closure comprises a zip-locking closure.
 6. The disposable protector of claim 5, wherein the sealed sides comprise three sides.
 7. The disposable protector of claim 6, wherein the disposable protector is substantially rectangular.
 8. The disposable protector of claim 7, wherein the front panel is approximately 2.0 mil.
 9. The disposable protector of claim 8, wherein the disposable protector is manufactured in four sizes, comprising a small size to fit bar, slide, touch cell phones, small Smart Phones, and MP3 players, a medium size to fit vertical flip phones, a large size to fit horizontal flip phones, and large Smart Phones, and an XLarge size to fit e-readers.
 10. A method to protect electronic devices, comprising: inserting an electronic device into a non-sealed side of a disposable protector, the disposable protector comprising: a front panel comprising a front edge, a rear panel sealed to the front panel to form a number of sealed sides, and comprising a back edge which extends beyond the front edge along the non-sealed side; a resealable closure to resealably close the front panel and the rear panel along the non-sealed side, an adhesive strip disposed on the back edge, and a protective strip disposed on the adhesive strip; closing the resealable closure; removing the protective strip; adhering the adhesive strip to the front panel to seal the back edge to the front panel; and operating the electronic device by applying pressure to the front panel.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising forming the disposable protector according to a size of the electronic device.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising forming the disposable protector from recyclable material.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising forming the disposable protector from a polyethylene material.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising forming the front and rear panels to be transparent.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising forming the adhesive strip from a re-sealable adhesive material.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising forming the resealable closure from a zip-locking closure.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising forming the disposable protector to be substantially rectangular.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising forming the front panel to be approximately 2.0 mil.
 19. A method to protect electronic devices, comprising: inserting an electronic device into a non-sealed side of a disposable protector having sealed sides and the non-sealed side, the disposable protector comprising: a resealable closure to resealably close the non-sealed side, and an adhesive strip disposed on the disposable protector; closing the resealable closure; adhering the adhesive strip to the front panel to seal the disposable protector and provide a custom fit around the electronic device; and operating the electronic device from within the disposable protector.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising forming the adhesive strip from a resealable adhesive material. 